Excellent Idea of the Day: Choosing Red Wine Over White

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If given the choice between red and white wines this holiday
season, go for red, scientists say. A chemical found in red wine
may help prevent cancer and other health problems.

A number of studies over the years have linked this chemical,
resveratrol, to health benefits. But
perhaps the strongest evidence yet will be presented this week
at the conference " Resveratrol 2012," held at the University
of Leicester through December 7.

"This is the second conference that brings together all the world
experts in resveratrol," Karen Brown, a member of the
University's Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group,
and one of the organizers, was quoted as saying in a press
release. We have got a fantastic line up covering cancer,
heart disease, diabetes, neurological diseases and life
extension."

"Having shown in our lab experiments that (resveratrol) can
reduce tumor development, we are now concentrating on identifying
the mechanisms of how resveratrol works in human cells," Brown
added.

The lab experiments, which she refers to, determined that a daily
amount of resveratrol equivalent to two glasses of wine can halve
the rate of bowel tumors.

For those wishing or needing to avoid alcohol intake, the
compound, found in the skins of red grapes, can be purchased in
pill form. Such pills, however, lack the numerous other
beneficial vitamins and minerals present in red wine. It's also
hard to conduct a convivial holiday toast at the dinner table by
clinking pills. Just keep any wine consumption in moderation.

The next step, in terms of research, is to determine the optimum
level of resveratrol that humans should ingest.

"It has been shown that high doses of resveratrol may potentially
interfere with other medication," Brown explained. "With all the
exciting new studies that are being done, especially the clinical
trials, I hope we'll have a clearer picture in the next few
years."

This week's conference, already underway, includes more than 65
lectures, presentations and posters by different researchers from
all over the world.